Dreaming of you
by CrystalMask
Summary: After pairing up with Ash for a contest, Misty starts having dreams where a boy who looks like Ash makes all of her dreams come true, leading her to fall for her dream boy. The problem is, dream Ash is anything but a fiction of Misty's imagination. AAML
1. Chapter 1

**Dreaming of you**

**by CrystalMask**

**Chapter 1  
**

* * *

How many months had passed already? A thousand, maybe? Probably not, but that's what it felt like. How many more were there to come? How many more months would she have to live without him? These thoughts crossed her mind as her aquamarine eyes studied the stars above her.

Why was she worrying about that, anyway? It's not as if she was dying without him. Sure she was amazingly sad but she was strong. She had always been strong, tough… It's not as if she had a choice anyways. Her sister's attitude towards her had made her that way. Maybe if they hadn't always referred to her as "the brat", she wouldn't have been so harsh and scared to show her feelings. But her attitude had changed…And, of course, _he_ had been the one to change it.

_He _who had turned her life upside down. _He_ who had softened her soul. _He _who had made her fall head over heels in love with him. _He _who was now gone. With his happy-go-lucky attitude, his boyish smile and his denseness, he had grabbed her personality, ripped it apart and created a whole new one. And not only did he do that, but he decided to meddle with her heart. How dare he…How dare he make her feel so helpless without him…

"Stupid boy…" she muttered as she got up from the grass. Yes, he was a stupid boy for doing that to her, but she still missed him. She looked at the stars one last time before heading back to Cerulean City gym. When she opened the doors, the dark lobby of the gym greeted her. She glanced at the clock on the lobby's desk, a yawn escaping her lips.

"Two in the morning? Time sure flies…"

She began walking towards the main pool of the gym. When she got there, she took off her tennis shoes and dipped her feet into the warm water. Her reflection in the water looked back at her. Her long, red hair was let down, gently falling over her shoulders. She felt a wave of sadness envelop her body. At times like this, she wished Togepi was still with her. She suddenly remembered the post man had come with a letter for her. When he came she was busy with a battle so she tucked it away in the pocket of her shorts. She grabbed the letter from her pocket. It was inside a light blue envelope. She opened it and began reading.

**Misty Waterflower,**

**Each year, Loran Island is the host of a survival contest. The rules are simple: Pairs of trainers must travel from one side of the island to the other while collecting special medals. The pair who collects all five medals and gets to the other side first, wins. Crossing from one side of the island to the other takes approximately 3 weeks and every medal is hidden somewhere along the way. This contest tests the survival, thinking and battling skills of the trainers. Each year, we randomly chose 6 participants plus two gym leaders. Each one of the chosen ones and the two gym leaders have the right to chose who their partner will be. And this year, you are one of the two gym leaders we have chosen. Since the gym leaders we choose have priority, we have included a list of the fourteen randomly chosen participants and the other gym leader so you may see who you're up against.**

**Cole Thomason and Lara Thomason**

**Maria Desdena and Johnny Hightower**

**Ashlynn Villiers and Nicolas Williams**

**Chase Nirvs and Leta Masters**

**Ginny Cooper and Maggie Mulholland**

**Bella Poole and Cory Jefferson **

**Gym leader Brock Slate.**

**We hope you accept our invitation. If you do, please call us at the number we included on the other side of the envelope. We need to receive your confirmation in three days time, along with the name of your partner. When you call us, we will explain more about the contest.**

**Sincerely yours, the Loran Island Survival Contest committee.**

Misty read and re-read the letter. It would take three weeks to travel from one side of Loran Island to the other. That meant she would spend three glorious weeks with whoever she wanted, and there was only one person with who she wanted to be with. And he had just finished the Sinnoh region, meaning that he was free...free …

In a flash, Misty got up and ran towards the phone. She quickly dialed a number and waited. The phone rang…and rang…and rang again...

"Come on, pick up!" she muttered impatiently.

"**Hello?" **a drowsy voice answered

"Brock?"

"**Misty? It's two in the morning…"**

"Yeah, I know. It won't be long. I just wanted to let you know that I pick Ash to be my partner in the Loran Survival Contest!"

"**Whaa?"**

"Okay…Did you get a letter today?"

"**Huh?** **How did you know that?"**

"Never mind that! The important thing is that when you read it, you can't choose Ash as your partner 'cause I want him, okay?"

"**Whatever you say, Misty…"**

Misty rolled her eyes. "Okay, g'night Brock!"

"**Night…"**

Misty quickly hung up and began dialing another phone number.

"**Hello?"**

Misty felt her heart start pounding in her chest. "Ash?"

"**Mi…Misty?"**

"Uhm…Yeah, it's me. I'm sorry I'm calling at such a freakishly late hour…"

"**No, don't worry! I was awake! I'm watching TV!"**

"Really? That's weird. When we were traveling together, you slept all day," she teased.

"**Ha ha Misty. So, how are ya? I can't believe how good it is to hear your voice!"**

Misty felt herself blush heatedly. "I…I'm doing well. How are you doing?"

"**I'm good too. I can't believe I'm home, though. It feels kinda weird. So anyway, what's new with you?"**

"Have you ever heard of the Loran Island Survival Contest?"

"**Yeah. I know it's supposed to be this super cool contest where two gym leaders and fourteen people randomly get selected to participate in it."**

"And would you like to go?"

"**Would I like to go? Yes, duh! It must be really cool! But why are you asking me about it?"**

"Uhm…Let's say that I was one of the two gym leaders they randomly selected."

"**Really?"**

"Yeah and I haven't chosen my partner yet and I was wondering if you'd like to be my part-"

"**YES!"**

"Really?"

"**Are you kidding? It would be awesome! Not only would I get to go to the contest, but I'd also get to spend time with you! What could be better than that?"**

She couldn't believe Ash wanted to spend time with her. If only he knew how badly she wanted to scream in joy.

"Wow…I also want to see you, Ash! So listen, tomorrow morning I'll call the contest people and get all the info and everything and then I'll call you, okay?"

"**Sure thing, Mist! I can't wait!"**

"Yeah, me either! So I'll talk to you tomorrow! Good night!"

"**Night Mist!"**

Misty grinned as she hung up the phone. He had actually accepted! She felt like she could scream in joy!

"This is gonna be so much fun!" she said to herself as she began walking to her room.

Ash yawned as he hung up the phone. A grin made its way to his lips. He didn't know what was better, going to the contest or seeing Misty. He knew very well that seeing Misty was much better but he was getting both things so he couldn't complain. He hadn't seen his best friend for a long time now and he was dying to see her again. He looked at Pikachu, who was sleeping besides him, and scratched his ear.

"This is like a dream, huh buddy?"

If only Ash knew what was to come, he wouldn't use the word 'dream' so nonchalantly.

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**Pokemon (c) Nintendo**


	2. Chapter 2

**Dreaming of You**

**by CrystalMask**

**Chapter 2  
**

* * *

"Come _oooon_, Ash! We're gonna miss the boat!" Misty tapped her foot impatiently against the floor. She hadn't come all the way to Vermilion city just to see pokemon battles, now had she? "Ash!"

Ash groaned. "Fine..." he muttered, walking away from the exciting battle he had been watching.

Ash and Misty had gotten to Vermilion port early since Misty didn't want to take the risk of somehow missing their ride to Tura island.

"So what exactly are we looking for?" asked Ash, following Misty through the crowded port.

"Our boat. How else did you expect us to get to Tura island? Swimming?"

"On our pokemon? Preferably Gyarados."

"You don't have a Gyarados."

"I meant yours, dummy."

"Look who's talki- Oh, there it is!" Misty pointed at a huge blue ship, the words "Dream Sea" written on the side of it in bright red.

"Awesome!" exclaimed Ash, "I've never been on a cruise liner before! Oh wait, I have been in one before. I hope this one doesn't sink."

Misty didn't hear what Ash had said because she was already running towards the ship. She quickly went up the stairs that led to the ship's entrance. After she gave her both her and Ash's tickets to the Ticket Woman, she ran inside. She took a map of the ship and examined it.

"Look!" she said to Ash, "This baby has seven floors! Isn't that awesome?"

"It even has a battle room! Let's go check it out!"

"But we're supposed to meet Brock any minute now."

"Brock can wait!"

Misty sighed. "Okay, you go check it out and I'll meet you later, kay?"

"Yes! Thanks, Misty!" Ash said while running away.

"Be at the dining room at eight!" she called out, hoping Ash had heard her.

"Here it is, Pikachu!"

Ash opened the door and walked inside. Everyone inside the room was either watching a battle or participating in one. He walked towards a rather large crowd of people who were watching an ongoing battle between a houndoom and a squirtle. The owner of the squirtle was a boy who looked 17 years old. He had short brown hair and the cockiest expression you had ever seen.

"Squirtle, use quick attack!" he yelled.

The squirtle began running towards the houndoom. The squirtle dashed forwards, hoping to hit the houndoom who simply jumped out of the way.

The houndoom, looking thoroughly amused, smirked at the squirtle.

"Howldog!" the girl ordered, "Use Crunch!"

Everyone watched as the poor turtle pokemon was squinting in pain, both legs inside the mouth of the dog pokemon.

"Tackle, Howldog!"

The houndoom threw the squirtle to the ground and then smashed his body against the turtle. The squirtle's trainer growled as he called back his pokemon.

"Damn it! You really are strong..."

The girl smiled sheepishly. "Thanks!"

Ash tried to walk over to the girl so as to ask her for a match but someone grabbed his arm. He turned around to see who it was and was surprised to see the squirtle's trainer.

"Uhm...Can I help you?" he asked, smiling politely.

"Is your name Ash Ketchum?"

"Yeah...Why?" he asked, watching the boy suspiciously.

"You know my best friend!" he answered, grinning.

"I do?"

"Yeah! Misty Waterflower! You traveled with her once."

Ash stared at the boy before reacting. "Misty is your best friend?" he asked surprised. He didn't know Misty had another best friend...

"Yeah! I met her when she became the cerulean gym leader. Ever since we've been friends."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, we're virtually inseparable. She's my best friend in the whole wide world and vice versa."

Ash forced a smile. For some reason, he didn't like this guy one bit.

"My name is Brian. And what's your deal with Misty? You're still friends? Are you still in contact?"

"Yes, we still are _best _friends." Ash answered, making sure to stress 'best'.

Brian grinned. "That's awesome! It's good that she has other friends, even though I should be enough." Brian laughed, not noticing the slightly angry expression on Ash's face.

"So what are you doing here?" asked Ash, trying to change the topic.

"I was invited to the contest by the owner of Tura Island. I am the son of his best friend after all."

"I see..."

"As a matter of fact, Misty is going to be here. I had invited her to come with me but she told me she was coming with someone else."

"Yeah, she's here with _me._"

Brian looked surprised. "She is? I suppose you invited her?"

"No, _she'_s the one who invited me."

"She invited you? That's odd. I'd have thought she would have invited me. Why want to spend two weeks with someone who isn't your best friend in the whole wide world?" asked Brian, with a sincerely confused voice.

Ash clenched his fists. How he wished he could punch this kid.

"I get it!" Brian suddenly exclaimed, "She probably asked you to go because she wanted to be fully concentrated."

"Huh?"

"With me there, she'd have so much fun she wouldn't be able to concentrate on the contest."

That was the last straw. Brian was going to get it good even if it's the last thing Ash ever did. Before Ash could even finish his thoughts, Brian ran away.

"See ya later, Ash! I'm gonna go find Misty!"

"_Not if I find her first!"_

Ash spent the following ten minutes searching for the red headed girl. The second he found her, he would ask her about Brian and why hadn't he ever heard of him before.

"Ash!"

Ash smiled victoriously as he saw Misty run towards him.

"Ash, I've been looking all over for you!" she said, catching her breath.

"Same here."

"You were looking for me? Why? Did you miss me?" she teased.

"I ran into someone. A friend of yours."

"Oh?"

"A guy called Brian. He said he was your best friend in the whole wide world."

Misty laughed nervously. "He said that, huh?"

"Yes. He also said that you we-"

"Misty!"

Both trainers looked around and saw Brian running towards them. Ash groaned inwardly while Misty waved hello. When Brian got to the spot they were, he immediately tackled Misty into a hug.

"Hey there, Mist! How's my favorite person in the world!"

Misty laughed and hugged Brian back. "I'm doing okay. How are you doing?" she asked, still hugging him.

"I'm doing fine now that I'm with you," he whispered into her ear.

Misty laughed nervously and tried to break free from the hug but Brian wasn't letting her. Ash, meanwhile, was staring at Misty and Brian, his face twisted with pure and utter jealousy.

"What's the matter, Cherry? Since when do you mind me hugging you?"

"_Since the boy I like is watching..." _she thought.

Ash was looking at Brian with disgust. _"What kind of a nickname is Cherry? If someone has the right to nickname her, it's me...and Brock, I guess..." _Not being able to watch anymore, he grabbed Misty and pulled her away from Brian.

"Hey! What's wrong with you? Can't you see I was hugging her?" Brian asked, annoyed at having his bonding moment disturbed.

"I'm sorry but Misty needs to come with me so we can look for our friend," Ash answered, trying his hardest to say it in a nice voice.

Misty decided to intervene before Brian could retort anything. "He's right, Brian. I'll see you later, kay? Bye!" Misty Followed Ash as they both walked away.

"Bye, Aquamarine Cherry!"

Ash dragged Misty as far away as he could of Brian. "Aquamarine cherry? Disgusting," he muttered.

"Oh come on, Ash. It's just a nickname."

"He doesn't have the right to nickname you. And much less give you lame nicknames."

"Wait a second. Since when do you decide what Brian can or can't do?" asked Misty, who was starting to get annoyed of Ash's rudeness.

"I don't. But at least he shouldn't give you lame nicknames."

"As if your nicknames were any better!"

Ash stopped and looked at Misty. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh please! At least his nicknames aren't _insulting_, unlike _yours_!"

"What? When have _I _called you something _insulting_?"

"_Thousands_ of times. You've called me Scrawny, crazy, angry crazy girl and tons of other things. And besides, there's no right for you to be so rude towards Brian. He hasn't done anything to you!" Misty yelled. "I'd rather find Brock all by myself!"

"_Fine_! See if I _care!_"

Both trainers stomped away from each other. Ash felt his blood boil within his skin. Stupid Brian... He had only met him today and already he hated his guts...

Ash found a nice spot in the corner of a room and sat down. Pikachu decided he didn't want to watch his master sulk so he ran away to join a group of pokemon. Ash closed his eyes and began to mutter curses at Brian for ruining his day.

"Him?"

"I don't know. He seems too young."

Ash looked up and saw an umbreon and a drowzee staring at him. Had they been the ones talking? No, he probably was just so angry he was imagining things. He smiled at the two pokemon.

"Hello..." the drowzee said.

Okay, maybe he wasn't imagining things... "Uhm...H-Hi..."

"My name is Archimedes and she's called Moonlight." He pointed at the umbreon, who smiled at Ash.

"We've come to give you something." Moonlight said.

"Gi-give me something?"

"Yes. Darkrai's dream sphere..." Archimedes grabbed a black ball from behind him and handed it to Ash.

Ash took the ball and looked at the two pokemon. "And why are you giving me this?"

""We were asked to give it to you."Archimedes said, "The pokemon who gave us this said that he had a debt to repay to you and he hopes you will use his present wisely."

"Wh-what?"

Archimedes rolled his eyes. He turned around and began walking away. "You have to explain how it works, Moonlight."

Moonlight looked at Ash. "The object you are holding is Darkrai's dream sphere. The dream sphere gives you the ability to enter the dreams of other people, just like Darkrai."

"Enter the dreams of other people?"

"Yes. Your mind is transported to the mind of another person." Moonlight waited to see if Ash reacted but he only stared at her. "To enter someone's dreams, you must think of that person while holding the dream sphere. If the person is dreaming, you will be transported to his or her dreams."

"This is some kind of a joke, right?"

"No... I have to go now but I'll come back and check on you later…Please be careful."

Before Ash could say anything, the umbreon ran away. Ash looked at the small black sphere in his hand. Going inside someone's dreams? It had to be a joke. No pokemon could make such a powerful object, it just wasn't possible. Ash got up and walked to his room, signaling Pikachu to follow him.

Dinner hadn't been as fun as Ash expected it to be. Even though it was nice to see Brock, Misty was still kinda mad at him and to make matters worse, Brian sat down with them to have dinner. But now, he was in the comforts of his cozy room, away from all troubles. He walked over to the window and stared at the sea. The sea served as a wiggly mirror, reflecting the stars and moon onto itself. Tomorrow in the afternoon, the ship would come into port.

Ash looked at his watch. Two in the morning already? Realizing it was way past his bedtime, he put on his pajama and got into his bed. His stare suddenly fell over a certain black sphere. He grabbed the dream sphere from his night table and tossed it around between his hands. Should he try it out? What could happen? It probably was a joke so no harm in trying, right?

"Okay dream sphere, I wanna go into...uhm...Misty's dreams." said Ash, closing his eyes and thinking of Misty. The sphere started glowing brightly and suddenly, Ash lost all consciousness.

"Moonlight..."

"Yes?"

"I'm worried..."

"Don't be. He seems like a nice kid. He'll know what to do."

Archimedes looked at the umbreon with a worried face. "You say that but. Maybe we shouldn't have done what the Great Darkrai asked."

"Archimedes, go to sleep."

"But -"

"Goodnight Archimedes." said Moonlight, snuggling against the sleeping girl besides her.

"Goodnight Moonlight."

"Ooooh my head," Ash moaned, rubbing his head. He opened his eyes and realized with horror that he was no longer in his room. It had now been replaced with a dark forest.

"_Where am I?" _he thought, panic slowly making its way through his mind. _"Is...Is this Misty's dream?"_ He slowly began walking through the forest, carefully analyzing his surroundings. He could hear no sounds, see no pokemon, everything was quiet and lifeless. He suddenly stopped. He could have sworn he heard someone. He listened for a few minutes until he was sure- someone was laughing.

He ran towards the laughter and arrived to the entrance of a small clearing. He hid behind some bushes and looked for the source of the laughter.

The person laughing was Misty, except she looked much older. She had much longer hair, looked somewhere between twenty-four to twenty-seven years old and was breathtakingly beautiful (Ash noticed with a blush). There was someone else with her, a black haired man. Ash couldn't see his face so he tried to quietly move to the other side of the clearing to see the man's face.

"Ash!"

Ash stopped in his tracks. Had Misty found him? He looked at her and saw that she was looking at the man.

"Ash," she said, still looking at the man, "What did you want to tell me?"

Ash looked at the man. Could this man be himself? He crawled behind the bushes until he reached the bushes that were directly in front of the man. He looked from behind the bushes and gasped. The man talking to Misty was an older version of himself!

"_This isn't happening..."_ thought Ash, _"I'm dreaming...I'm dreaming because things like this don't happen in real life..."_

"Misty, I... I don't know how to say this," dream Ash said, his words hesitant and nervous.

"What? What is it?" she asked, grabbing his hands and looking straight into his eyes.

Ash could barely hear the conversation. He tried moving a little more towards them but as he moved around the bushes, he didn't see the Ariados that was just about to start crawling on his head. The moment the Ariados landed on his head, Ash screamed and shot up. The Ariados, half scared to death, jumped off Ash's head and crawled away as quickly as it could. Ash looked towards his dream self and Misty, only to find them both staring right back at him.

"Ash?" Misty exclaimed, looking back and forth between the older and the younger Ash.

Dream Ash walked towards Ash and examined him for a few seconds, before turning around to look at Misty. "What are you saying, Mist? This guy isn't me! There's only one me!" Dream Ash then looked at Ash. "So, what's your name?"

"Uhm...My name is...uhm..." Ash stuttered, trying to find a name for himself. "Bob! I mean Michael! No! Wait! I mean, my name is...Zack!"

Misty walked towards "Zack…" Something about him was calling her, something was telling her to come closer to this Ash lookalike. Ash stared back at Misty, terrified that she would somehow find out that he actually was the real Ash.

"How old are you?" she asked.

"I'm sixteen," he said quickly, trying to avoid looking directly into her eyes.

"What are you doing here?"

"I..uhm...got lost and...I'm trying to find my way home."

"Where do you live?" asked Dream Ash.

"In Pal-I mean, Petalburg town."

Misty smiled. "I know where that is! I can take you!" Misty began walking away, signaling Ash to follow her.

Ash looked at Dream Ash and panicked when Dream Ash started vanishing until he was completely gone. _"Is that what's gonna happen to me? If Misty stops paying attention to me, will I disappear too?" _Not wanting to find out the answer to that question, Ash ran towards Misty.

"So Misty, how old are you?" he asked, trying to get her to focus on him.

"I'm sixteen," she answered.

Ash was about to tell her that she didn't look sixteen but before he could even open his mouth, Misty was surrounded by a blinding white light. When the light disappeared, Misty no longer looked like a twenty-four year old. Ash found himself staring in awe at a sixteen year old Misty.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" she asked with slight irritation. She never liked it when someone stared at her. "And close your mouth."

Ash quickly closed his mouth and blushed. "So-sorry..." _I'm not used to watching people transform in front of me..._

Misty rolled her eyes and kept walking. Zack was acting really strangely...Kinda like Ash. But it was no surprise he was acting like Ash when he looked exactly like him. _Well, I guess I better enjoy the walk._

Ash, on the other hand, was too freaked out to enjoy anything. How could he get out? How could he go back to reality? Was he forever trapped in Misty's dreams? Why hadn't those stupid pokemon told him how to get out of dreams?

Back in the real world, Pikachu was desperately trying to wake up his master. Ash's body was on the ground, his eyes half open and his whole body shaking. The dream sphere was on the floor next to him, shining brightly. Pikachu quickly ran to the door and pushed it open. He ran over to Brock's door and started slamming his body against the door.

"Pikaaaa! Pikaaaa!"

"What's wrong?" asked Brock, opening the door.

"Pika! Pika Pika Pika!" Pikachu waved his arms around desperately. He then threw himself on the floor and started shaking.

"What's the matter?" asked Brock, now alarmed. "Is something wrong with Ash?"

Pikachu got up, nodded and ran towards his room, followed by Brock.

Brock went into Ash's room and found Ash shaking violently in the floor. "Ash!" he yelled, shaking his friend. "Ash! Wake up! Dammit! Wake up, Ash!" Brock got up and looked at Pikachu. "I'm going to go get Misty. You stay here and watch over him!"

Brock ran out of the room and quickly went to Misty's room. Misty was sleeping quietly, a small smile on her lips. Brock quickly started shaking her.

"Misty! Misty, wake up!"

Ash was walking alongside Misty. He was about to ask her something when everything around him started disappearing. Misty, the trees and the pokemon all disappeared until it was only him in an infinite white room. Suddenly, a huge black hole appeared from thin air and started sucking him in. Ash tried to run away but the hole got even bigger.

"Help! Misty! Mistyyyy!" he screamed, as the hole sucked him in.

Misty opened her eyes and yawned. "What's the matter? Why are you waking me up so early?"

"Something's wrong with Ash!"

In a flash, Misty was fully awake and now Brock found himself being shaken by her. "What do you mean something wrong with Ash? What's wrong with him?"

"He's shaking like crazy and he's not responding! He als-"

Before Brock could even finish his sentence, Misty was already outside of the room, running towards Ash's room.

Ash was still shaking, his face twisted into a terrified expression. "Misty!" he screamed, "Misty! Help me, Misty!"

Misty bent down and tried to stop Ash from shaking. "I'm here! I'm here! I'm here, Ash!"

Ash slowly stopped shaking until he was completely still. He then opened his eyes and looked at Misty. "M-Misty? Where am I?"

"You're in your room, Ash. You were having a bad dream." She helped him get up and slowly lead him to his bed.

Ash sat down on his bed and groaned. _Maybe it was a dream... _

"Ash!" exclaimed Brock, coming inside the room. "Are you okay now?"

"Yeah... I was just having a bad dream, I think."

Misty suddenly bent down and grabbed the dream sphere from the floor. "What is this?" she asked, showing it to Ash.

Panic returned to Ash's face. _Oh god,_ he thought desperately, _ It wasn't a dream!_

"What is it?" Misty asked again.

What could he tell her? He couldn't tell her what it was because she wouldn't believe him. And if she did believe him, she'd kill him for having gone into her dreams. "It's something I bought as a souvenir."

Brock yawned. "I'm going back to sleep now that everyone is okay," he said, walking out of the room.

Misty got up. "I'm going to go get my covers."

"Going to go get your covers?"

"Yeah. I'm not leaving your room tonight, in case you have another bad dream."

"Uh...Thanks, that's really nice."

"That's what friends do! They take care of each other."

Ash watched as Misty left the room. He then crawled back inside his bed. Misty sure was a good friend. She came back a few minutes later, covers in hand.

"Don't you have a couch here?" she asked looking around Ash's room.

"No."

"So where am I going to sleep?"

"On the bed," Ash answered, as if it were obvious.

"On the bed? But, But..." Misty couldn't stop the blush crawling on her face.

"What's wrong?"

"You're a boy and I'm a girl..." Misty stuttered, her face red as a cherry.

"And? I'm not getting what's the problem with me being a boy and you being a girl."

Misty sighed. She had forgotten Ash was denser than a rock. She slowly walked to Ash's bed and lied down besides him.

"Are you hot?" asked Ash

"_What?"_

"I'm asking if you're hot. You're red all over. Do you want me to open the window?"

Misty's face became even redder. "No, that's okay."

"Are you sure? You just got even red-"

"So what's was your nightmare about?" Misty interrupted, trying to change the conversation topic.

"Uhm...I don't remember it very well...It was weird..."he said, smiling nervously.

"I also had a weird dream tonight."

"You did?"

"Yeah. We were in this forest and you were going to tell me something when suddenly a guy who looked just like you appeared out of nowhere."

"What was his name?"

"Zack."

"Zack? Are you positive it was Zack?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"N-no reason."

Misty yawned. "I'm kinda tired. Maybe we should go to sleep now." She cuddled under the covers.

Pikachu made his way into her arms and closed his eyes. Ash grabbed the dream sphere and looked at it.

"_Looks like I'm gonna have more fun than initially expected."_

_

* * *

_**TO BE CONTINUED**_  
_


	3. Author Note

**OH SHI- After two years of no signs of life, Crystalmask is actually UPDATING Dreaming Of You? **

**No and Yes, dear readers. **

**No because, as you can see, this is just an author's note.**

**Yes, because the real third chapter is now almost finished and will be posted tomorrow.**

**But, you see, I owe an explanation to my old readers and I'd like to have them read this before I post the new chapter:**

**To make a long story short, I think I'm artistically stuck. Ever since the original DoY, I haven't been able to complete or stick to a multichapter fic.**

**I have a nagging suspicion it's because of this fic. I think that until I finish this story, I won't be able to really focus on a fic for a period of more than three months. Therefore, I'm putting everything on hiatus and I'm going to finish this damn fic even if it kills me.**

**It's not about the reviews anymore.**

**It's not about having people read this.**

**It's about my own growth as a writer. **

**Old readers (if there still are any), please forgive me for taking so long. Also, I suggest you re-read the last two chapters since I edited them a little (oh god, my grammar from two years ago was appalling ffffu-).**

**I'm going to delete this emopost tomorrow before I post the new chapter so hopefully, everyone will read this in time XD**

**Sincerely yours,**

**Crystalmask**

**p.s. poke12101, if you're reading, I'm sorry I failed you so horribly.**


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: pokemon (c) Nintendo

**Dreaming of You**

**by**

**CrystalMask**

**Chapter 3**

* * *

After softly closing the door to Ash's room, Misty pressed her ear against the door, wanting to make sure she hadn't woke him up.

"Misty?"

Misty quickly jumped away from the door and saw Brian standing a few feet away from her. "Brian! Don't startle me like that!"

"Why? What were you doing? Were you spying on Ash? And why are you out of your room in your pajamas?"

Misty blushed. "I wasn't spying on Ash!" _And stop asking so many questions._

"Then what were you doing?"

"I was just making sure I didn't wake him up when I closed the door of his room."

Brian immediately eyed her suspiciously. "And _why_ were you in _his_ room?"

Misty glared back at him. "That's none of your business." She turned around and started walking towards her room. "Now if you're done with the Q and A, I need to get dressed."

Brian immediately started following her. "Just tell me why you were in his room!"

"No."

"Misty! Tell me now!" he demanded, following her stubbornly to her room. "Misty, tell me!" A loud slam of a door was his answer.

Misty sighed, walking over to her bag and grabbing her clothes. She knew Brian was still outside, waiting for her to finish so he could keep questioning her. After trying to take as much time as possible to get ready, she walked over to the door and opened it. As expected, Brian was outside, tapping his foot impatiently on the floor.

"What now?" she asked in a long suffering voice.

"Just tell me why you were in his room," he said, trying to hide the anxiety in his voice.

"Ash didn't feel too well last night so I just wanted to make sure he was okay. Are you satisfied?"

"Ooooh," Brian said, relief dripping from his words. "Aw, Cherry! You're such a good pal! Now, let's go have some breakfast, kay?"

"Sure."

To Misty's surprise, the ship's cafeteria was a lot emptier than she had expected. Sure, it was rather early in the morning but from experience, trainers usually got up early. She followed Brian to one of the tables and sat down. While Brian started reading one of the menus, Misty couldn't help but wish her other two best friends were there. She liked Brian and all, but she wanted to spend quality time with Brock and Ash.

"Okay, Misty, do you know what you're gonna order? Brian asked, awakening the redhead from her reveries.

Misty grabbed the menu and skimmed it. "I'll have the pancakes, I guess." She dropped the menu on the table and watched as Brian got up to get their breakfast. Aw man, where was Brock, anyway? He of all people should already be up. She looked around the cafeteria and felt her lips twist into a smile. Brock had _indeed_ gotten up early, and was now in the process of trying to win the heart of a young girl sitting a few tables away from Misty. _Same old Brock,_ Misty thought, rolling her eyes.

Just at that moment, Brian came back with their breakfasts. "Here we go," he announced, placing a plate of pancakes of in front of Misty. "Pancakes for you and waffles for me."

"Mmm-mm, thanks, Brian," Misty said, reaching for the maple syrup and pouring it on her pancakes.

"Heh, you're welcome, Cherry."

By the time Misty took the last bite of pancakes, half an hour had already passed. It was starting to get rather late and Ash still hadn't showed up.

"Ash isn't here yet," she muttered, mostly to herself.

Brian shrugged. "It's his loss," he replied curtly.

"Yeah, well, I'm getting worried," Misty shot back, getting up.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go wake him up befo-"

"Misty, geez, stop freaking out about him," Brian cut her off, sounding annoyed. "There's stuff I want to show you and come on, isn't your _best friend_ more important than him?"

"You're right, my best friend_ is_ more important," she answered, dryly, "which is why I'm going to go wake up Ash."

Before Brian could retort anything, Misty stormed off. By the time she reached Ash's door, the redhead had cooled off. She knocked twice on his door but there was no answer. She knocked again, harder this time. "Ash?"

Having received once again no answer, Misty slightly opened the door and went inside. Ash's room was completely empty; the bed was unmade and Ash's pajama had been messily stuffed into his backpack. "Hmm, he must have left already."

He couldn't be in the cafeteria—she'd have bumped into him on the way to his room. Maybe he was in the battleroom? She left the room and started making her way to the fifth floor. Just as she was passing the Olympic pool room, something jumped on top of her shoulder and held on.

"Pikachu-pi!"

Misty laughed. "Hi, Pikachu! How are you? Did you sleep well?"

The yellow rodent let out a content "pikaaa" and let himself tumble into Misty's arms, making the former giggle.

"Misty!"

She looked up and saw Ash standing next to the large pool, waving at her. She grinned and ran over to him.

"Ash! How're you feeling?" she asked upon reaching him.

"I'm okay, Misty but that's not important," he answered, waving his hand dismissively. "What's important is that!" He pointed at something inside the pool.

"Misty put Pikachu on the floor and looked at the place Ash was pointing to. At the very bottom of the deep pool, a small blue pokemon was swimming around.

"Is…Is that a Chinchou?" she asked, leaning a bit towards the pool.

Ash leaned in too. "No, no, it looks like a squirtle," he replied, squinting his eyes.

Misty leaned forward even more. "No, Ash, it's a Chinchou. I mean, look at it!"

"Misty, come on! It's a squirtle!" Ash leaned in even more except, this time, he leaned over a little too much. In a second, he lost his balance and started falling towards the pool. As any normal human, his first reaction was to grab onto whatever he could, resulting in pulling Misty along for his unplanned swimming session.

Misty was the first to rise to the surface. "_Ash_! What was _that_ for?"

Ash surfaced next and laughed awkwardly. "Sorry, Misty, I didn't mean it, honest!"

"Yeah but now I'm all wet, you _dolt_," she shot back, pouting slightly.

Suddenly, a squirtle surfaced in between the two friends and then swam away, making Ash grin victoriously.

"Ha! I told you it was a squirtle!"

"Oh, _shut up_," Misty said, playfully splashing water on Ash.

"Hey!" Ash laughed and covered himself. Not wanting to let Misty get away with it, he retaliated by splashing her with water too. Soon after, Ash was in the middle of a _very_ intense water fight with Misty until he noticed Pikachu.

The small pokemon was laughing at the humans' antics and Pikachu, unlike Ash and Misty, was completely dry.

"Hey Misty, don't you think it's only fair that _everyone_ gets soaked?" he slyly asked, nodding towards Pikachu.

"Oh yes, I agree, Ash," she replied, smiling mischievously.

"Pi?" squeaked Pikachu, noticing how the two trainers were slowly swimming towards him.

The moment Ash and Misty were out of the pool, Ash yelled, "Get him!"

Pikachu immediately ran away for his dear life, followed closely by the two laughing teens.

"Come back, buddy!"

"Yeah, Pikachu, we only want to throw you in the pool!"

"Pikaaaaaaa!"

Ash ran ahead of Misty and managed to get close enough to catch Pikachu. "Gotcha!"

"Pika!" Pikachu tried to fight his way out of Ash's arms but Misty had come to help Ash restrain Pikachu, leaving the poor pokemon with no escape from his giggling tormentors.

Once they reached the poolside, the two humans started counting the seconds until Pikachu's watery fate.

"One…Two…Three!"

The two of them jumped in, taking their unwilling mouse along with them for the ride. After everyone surfaced, a half furious half amused Pikachu started chasing the two friends. As they swam away from Pikachu's wrath, Ash caught Misty's eye and showed her the largest grin he could muster, unaware of the blush that instantly appeared on her face.

Lying down on a beach chair next to Misty, Ash couldn't stop thinking about how nice it felt to hang out with her again. While they had waited for their clothes to dry as they rested under the sun, the two friends had finally really sat down to catch up.

"You know, I really missed you," Ash confessed, grinning at her.

"Aw, has little Ashy-boy gone soft on me?" Misty teased, wanting to distract the blush that urged to appear on her face.

"Heh, last time I ever tell you what I'm feeling," Ash scoffed, trying to sound offended.

Misty laughed gently. "I missed you too, softie."

Ash smiled and was about to say something but a scream cut him off.

"Cherry!"

Groaning quietly, both Ash and Misty turned around to look at Brian, currently running towards them.

"Hey," Misty greeted in a half-hearted attempt to look happy he had come.

Brian glanced at Ash, gave him a curt nod then looked at Misty. "Hey, Misty, I wa—_Why _you _wet_?"

"Oh, no reason," she replied, smiling, "Ash and I just felt like swimming—"

"With our clothes on," Ash completed, also smiling at Brian.

"Aw, I wanted to be the first one to swim with you, Misty," Brian muttered, oblivious to the satisfied smirk Ash was now displaying.

Misty smiled sympathetically. "Maybe later, Brian."

"Well, okay."

At this point, Ash expected Brian to leave but, instead, Brian lied down next to Misty on the beach chair. As if wanting to add insult to injury, Brian put his arm beneath Misty's neck and got closer to her. And then, to make thing as bad as they could get, Ash noticed Misty was blushing. What was Brian doing? Was he trying to steal Misty away or something? And _why_ did she seem to _like_ it?

Ash, of course, was quite mistaken in his assumptions. Although Misty loved Brian as a friend, she wanted to hit him for cuddling her _in front_ of Ash. Embarrassed by Brian's inappropriate actions, she blushed intensely. She was about to move Brian away from her but got distracted by Ash getting up.

"Ash? Where're you going?"

"I'm going to go take a look around the ship," he replied, his casual tone sounding _very_ forced.

Misty made a move to get up. "Oh! I'll come wit-"

"No," Ash interrupted, "I don't mind going alone." Before Misty could even reply, he walked away.

Worried by Ash's cold behavior, she told Brian to wait a moment and ran off to catch up with Ash. "Hey, Ash!"

Ash stopped and turned to look at Misty. "Yes?"

"'Fess up. What's wrong?"

Ash forced a smile. "Nothing's wrong, Misty."

"_Ash…"_

"Fine," Ash grunted. "It's him, okay?"

"Him? Brian? Ash, not _this_ again," Misty groaned. "What's Brian done to you for you to dislike him so much?"

"Well…nothing exactly," Ash muttered.

"Then why do you hate him?"

"Because he keeps interrupting," Ash exclaimed, frustrated. "You and I were having a great time and he just comes along and interrupts like if he was your best friend and—"

"Ash, he _is_ my best friend," Misty interrupted.

"Well, fine then!" he snapped. "Why are you even hanging out with me, anyways? Go back and cuddle with your _best friend_ and leave me alone!"

"_Fine_ I _will_!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!

They both stormed off in opposite directions, muttering under their breaths.

* * *

The rest of the day was very unpleasant for both of them. Avoiding eachother, talking only if necessary and all-around being in a sour mood, Ash and Misty looked like the opposites of best friends. The only moment they momentarily forgot their squabble was when the ship reached Tura Island.

Saying the Island was big was a severe understatement. Tropical forests covered the island, small mountains poking out from inside the trees. Upon reaching the northern part of the island, both contestants and tourist were led to a huge pokemon center right at the entrance of the tropical forest. Ash and Misty reluctantly followed, wondering if the trip was really going to be as pleasant as they had hoped.

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**AN: Everytime I make Brian call Misty 'Cherry', a little part of my soul scrunches up and dies ._.**

**SO, dear readers, I'm sorry to be a little late with thisss but I had a little trouble deciding if I should include a dream sequence in this chapter but I think instead of including it here and doing only a tiny sequence, I'll do a whole chapter focused almost entirely on a dream sequence BD**

**Anywayss, I hope you enjoy and the next chapter should be done in like max a month and min two weeks~**


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